Seth MacFarlane Gives Fox’s ‘The Orville’ a ‘Star Trek’ Look and Feel

Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville returned for season two on Sunday, December 30. Its first episode, “Ja’loja”, received an all-time high for ratings on The Orville with 4.75 million. Quite a successful premiere for MacFarlane and his crew.

For season two, MacFarlane brought in Star Trek: The Next Generation star and director Jonathan Frakes to help out with a few episodes to achieve that Star Trek feel for the show.

“[Seth MacFarlane] clearly wanted [The Orville] to look like [The Next Generation],” Frakes added. “So, he hired the cinematographer [Marvin Rush] and the camera operator, and Brannon Braga, who wrote First Contact among other things that are fabulous. Robbie Duncan McNeill, one of our wonderful directors from Voyager, James Conway, who directed a bunch of great Next Gen episodes; he hired me. He filled the room with Next Gen people so that the show would look and feel like it. I think he did it.”

Season two will also feature some Star Trek actors that will surely “geek out” some fans of the beloved series. “The Star Trek that we have has really found its voice, and Discovery has really found its voice,” Frakes explained. “And The Orville has filled in a void. For a lot of people, The Orville is their new Star Trek because it does tell stories like [The Next Generation], and it’s got wild humor in it.”

Star Trek has always had that cinematic look with quick frame changes and shots. “On Next Generation, the traditional framing, and the things we became accustomed to as fans of the show, we see in [The Orville] because that’s the look,” said Frakes.

Watch a preview for episode two, “Primal Urges,” below.

The Orville returns tomorrow at 9/8c with an all-new episode on Fox. You can catch new episodes every Thursday.